Should I be trying to get my almost 3 month old on a schedule? We have a bedtime schedule but it’s later than what internet articles recommends. We don’t really schedule naptime or length of naps. Is this something we should be doing?
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Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. Should 3-month-olds be on a schedule? - Mamas Uncut
Honestly, I didn’t do what the internet said. I did what worked for our family. Everyone’s schedule is different. My kids would sleep a lot for awhile after a feeding or bottle. Or they would be Al wide awake. My kids really didn’t get on a schedule until they were older and even then it was if they were tired they would nap if not they wouldn’t. But it all depends on works for you. If they get cranky at certain times maybe think about when they could nap prior before get cranky from being tired. It’s been some years since my kids were that tiny but I believe that young they sleep when they want to. Don’t worry about trying to keep up with what the internet says too much. All kids are different all schedules are different. You just have to find what works for you and your family.
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If not scheduling anything works for you and your life, and you have a happy and healthy baby, then you’re doing it right. 
I monitored my baby’s nap times and had him in bed at a certain time because that’s what worked for us, and he seemed to do better that way too. Find what works for you. 
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I made myself sick trying to get my twins on a schedule until a random doctor told me, just follow their lead. I did. I quit trying to force them down when I wanted them to go down and learned their routine. They made their own schedule. I adjusted our day to day to that and things worked nicely. Babies will switch up too. Theyll go through sleep regression which changes things, growth spurts theyll sleep longer. It’s all a game of learning each other. Find YOUR family’s groove. Don’t force it, you’ll make yourself crazy.
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I think the only thing I stuck to was awake windows at that age. Babies do what they want lol
I kinda had my babies on a schedule but not like a strict one. Like make a schedule but use it more like a guide line and dont stress if things dont line up exactly.
Schedule what works best for you and your family. The internet isn’t always right.
Babies make their own schedules 
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Not with my first but with my second and third child I stuck to a 6/10/2 feeding schedule that allowed me time in between to organise my other two children and get them to pre-school etc while my baby was settled they’d also have dinner, bath time and bed time during the babies sleep time so it meant I had time to actually focus on them then feed my baby and still have time for myself and my partner too
Honestly what works for you guys is what works for you guys…if not having a schedule works then keep going. If you find yourself wanting/needing a schedule make one that suits you.
In the old days, mothers set a great deal of store by having a baby on a schedule. When I became a mother in the 70s, I found out it was frustrating for the baby and for me. Do what comes naturally. If the baby is hungry, it’s time to eat. If the baby is sleepy, it’s nap time. When nighttime rolls around, you should probably shoot for a 9:00 bedtime. Make sure baby’s tummy is full. Using a feeder bottle, give cereal to sleep on. The baby will sleep better and longer. Give feedings of breast milk or formula as needed through the night, and baby gets up when ready in the morning. For naps, don’t wake baby up unless baby takes a late afternoon nap. Don’t let him sleep past 5:00 or so or you will have trouble at bedtime. That’s it in a nutshell. Schedules are unnatural and not necessary.
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I’d go with a later schedule anyway. It stops them growing up to wake you at five am! Go with the flow at that age. Make sure they eat regularly but otherwise just go with whatever eat, poo, sleep repeat they’ve got for now.
Babies thrive on routine
at this age your baby has started a routine allready ie feed at 9pm and next 1 or 2 am and next 5 or 6 am etc if you are super lucky you may have an all nighter who is sleeping through but that normally happens in my case around the 5 to 6 month time
Not so much at 3 months. But you prolly see a different pattern now from when baby was first born? You’ll (you and baby) will “fight” it out…work out some kinks.
How often do you feed baby? Thats your schedule…if it doesn’t work for you then stretch that time out by 15 mins then 20 then 30. Eventually baby will figure it out and comply.
Now if you are going back to work and have a babysitter then yes should have somewhat a schedule.
No matter you’re doing now or plan to do REMEMBER to nap and or rest when baby does. So you don’t get run down.
Congrats on baby and best of luck
Your child will literally make their own schedule. Let them sleep when they sleep.
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At first I didn’t have a schedule but it just kinda fell into place after the first few months. It’s what my baby decided lol I just follow her mostly and pay attention to the time. That’s how I figured out her own little schedule
I had to put my last one on a schedule, she was a Preemie and I was a single working mom. It worked great. I never really had one for the older 3, I was a stay at home mom.
Stay off the internet articles and only ask your doctor questions about your baby. Any type of sleep training or schedule shouldn’t be done until baby is at LEAST six months old. Babies thrive on schedules, but many times they will make their own that kind of falls into place. Seriously though, don’t trust the internet with what is best for your baby.
I didn’t.
You can try if you really want to. But generally speaking, as long as baby is getting enough sleep, enough “food”, and enough interaction from you…there’s no need for you to set a strict schedule.
3 month old should still be sleeping around 17 hours…as long as babe is getting around that it doesn’t matter what her “official” bedtime is…or what her “official” naptimes are.
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Such a crazy world, the internet make you feel like a bad parent because you listen to to your own babies needs instead of following routines set out by strangers.
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i did a routine schedule with all three at least tried to especially if you work. bath bed 7-8 oclock at night naps around noonish or so especially if had someone watch if your working tell them your routine.still on same routine just minus naps because kids are school age now.
At that age it’s trial and error. At that age w all my three they usually napped in between bottles for an hour or so. About 3 naps. Morning mid afternoon and then early evening and in bed for night anywhere between 8-10pm. All babies are different don’t go by internet all the time. 3 months is still young they sleep a lot. Let the baby guide you.
My now 2 year old was never on a schedule, we had a bedtime routine, but otherwise our days were just played by ear basically. There’s no sense in putting an infant on a strict routine; as much sleep regression that happens during growth spurts/mental leaps, you’re just setting yourself up for frustration.
No one in any internet article has the same dynamic as your family. As long as all the major items are being addressed (fed, rested, cleaned, entertained, healthy) and you get to the places you need to be when you need to be there, do whatever works for you. Bedtime at 11pm and up at 9? Breakfast on the way to school/daycare? Teeth brushed in the bath? Wear next days clothes to bed so you don’t have to dress in the morning? All cool. Unless the pediatrician tells you otherwise, all other opinions on how you guys get through the day are irrelevant.
I have 6 living and 2 angels. I’ve never been able to keep to any strict schedule. I do what worked best for me because of my work schedule. Baby fed when hungry and napped at no particular time. But it seemed to be the same each day. My almost 2 yr old is the only one that naps now and usually naps are 11am. One nap but sometimes on the weekends when all the kids are home it happens later. If you want to do a schedule there’s nothing wrong with that. If you don’t stay true to that schedule and it’s more of a rough draft, there’s nothing wrong with that. If you want to try schedules to the wind there’s nothing wrong with that either. I say as long as your baby is being taken care of there are no set rules.
From about 6 weeks on I just watched for “sleepy cues” and let them nap. I never woke them up from naps (not even now at 2 years old) and he ended up on his own routine that has basically been the same since 2 months. The only thing that has changed is naptimes as naps got fewer. Learn your baby’s sleep cues and go with the flow.
Every kid is different. Do what works for you and your family not what the internet says.
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I watched my child for the first 4 months and then I put her on a routine based on how she slept and ate and all since birth. It’s incredible. You want a kid that hardly cries, put him on a schedule, they know what happens next and it makes them much happier
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I did. It’s how I got my kids sleeping through the night around that age. But everyone’s different and what works for me might not work for you
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I loved having a routine with my babies. It was really helpful to keep things on track. That being said, its what works for your family.
My 2 made their own schedules. If baby’s schedule works for you and your family, just follow baby’s lead.
Way back my doctor said by that time let it be on demand. Just like us their hunger comes at different times.
I really just followed my son’s schedule but he adapted to a sleep routine pretty quickly because my doctor actually gave me a little tip that worked out really nicely. So when it was time for sleep I would make the room very dark. When he would wake up at night I would never turn the light on. Just hold him and breastfeed. Then once it was time to wake up I would turn all the lights on and open all the blinds and sing very loudly. My doctor told me it helps them develop a routine of dark meaning sleep or quiet time and the light meaning wake up time. We ended up getting on the exact same routine eventually lol he would knock out with me at 930pm and pretty much just breastfeed non stop in bed with me and then we would both wake up at 9am. The most sleep I have ever had was when my son was a baby lol
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Its really hard for the first 3 years or so. They go through so many changes and sleep regressions, teething, sickness… etc. i’d look up baby sleep cues, and baby feeding cues and see if you can notice a pattern. I wouldnt be too time specific like everyday this must happen at this time because life happens and all the drs appointments, if you work, or other children etc… during the day id open the blinds and have regular noise vacuum, washer etc… at night have it quieter but doesn’t have to be 100% silent because baby will never sleep through noise if it is. Have a routine like bath, book, feeding, pj’s, swaddle every night to establish a routine- it can be whatever works for you.
Youre not a bad mum if your baby is healthy and happy. Babies tend to develop their own routines and its less stressful than trying to force them into yours. Their needs and schedules change so often …be guided by baby not the Internet.
If it’s working for your child it definitely doesn’t Need to be fixed you know your child
You do what feels right for you
I had a routine when my son slept i slept
My girls always made their own schedule. We just took it by ear until they got a little older.
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It’s what works for you. Some kids are easy to put on one, others buck it every step of the way. It is better for you and baby to be on the same schedule, so try it and if it doesn’t work after about two three days, let baby do it themselves.
I always tried to get them on a daycare type schedule so their naps could be in sink w 12:30 rest time at daycare once they turned 16-18mths